On 15 December 2021 we interviewed Detlef Garbe. The focus of our discussion was early research into the persecution of people stigmatised as »asocials« and »career criminals« under National Socialism.
Detlef Garbe was director of the Neuengamme Concentration Camp Memorial for many years and at the time of our meeting he was chairman of the Foundation of Hamburg Memorials and Learning Centres. In addition, he was one of the founding members of the Project Group for the Forgotten Victims of the Nazi Regime in Hamburg, which was set up in 1982. The group carried out research into people who were persecuted under National Socialism but subsequently received scant recognition as victims, if at all. It also campaigned for support for both survivors and their families.
We meet Detlef Garbe near the former welfare institution in Hamburg-Farmsen. During the Nazi regime this institution played a central role in the persecution of »asocials« in Hamburg. Prior to the interview, Detlef Garbe had told us about a small memorial that was apparently in front of the building. In the first hour of our meeting we searched everywhere – in the park in front of the complex of buildings, behind every tree and every bin, around the building – but the stone was nowhere to be seen. Together we came to the conclusion that the search was intended to symbolise the disavowal of the victims and the failure to remember them adequately.
The interview that followed focused above all on the project group. What was the impetus to form such a group? How did the members approach their tasks? When and where did they encounter opposition? Detlef Garbe talked about both the scholarly activities of the Hamburg initiative and its decisive efforts on behalf of those who had been persecuted, and their families. In 1989 it established a centre to provide advice to people who were persecuted under the Nazi regime.
A short film providing further information on this early research and the Project Group for the Forgotten Victims of the Nazi Regime will be available on this site in the near future.
Merle Stöver